cdmtoday

Be a friend to yourself. Buy a Weber. This thing we be converted into beer cans while the Webers keep chugging along. Part forever. Great build quality. Outstanding customer service. I'm done with no-name grills.

mm20

It's funny how when Woot! calls their stuff crap, it's ok, but when *YOU* call it crap, *poof* you get banned. Hypocrites.

What's the point in commenting anymore when every time I comment, someone deletes it?

I've had enough of this absolute crap. I'm not spending one more dime here. NOT. ONE. DIME. The employees here are so thin skinned that I can't say a damn thing without hurting any precious little snowflakes.

KrmtDfrog

These grills appear to have burner lines that run from the front of the grill vertically to the back, rather than horizontally from side to side. This is a pretty bad design flaw and should be avoided.

Why, you ask? Because it puts the very hot flame close to the plastic knob that controls the temperature. Over time, this will cause some melting of the back of that plastic knob. Plastic activators/controllers that are far away from the heat - as they are on most horizontal ones - are simply better for that sole reason.

showcaller

KrmtDfrog wrote:These grills appear to have burner lines that run from the front of the grill vertically to the back, rather than horizontally from side to side. This is a pretty bad design flaw and should be avoided.

Why, you ask? Because it puts the very hot flame close to the plastic knob that controls the temperature. Over time, this will cause some melting of the back of that plastic knob. Plastic activators/controllers that are far away from the heat - as they are on most horizontal ones - are simply better for that sole reason.

What are you talking about! I have owned a few bar b Cues in the last 25 years, all have had burners going vertically (that is from front to back) versus horizontally side to side. I have never had the issue of the knobs getting so hot you can't touch them. If you have - then you have had some pretty cheap (and I do mean cheap as in setting a new standard for low quality) grills. The main reason for having vertical burners is so you can have more control with indirect heating. We use our bar b cue at least twice a week and most of the time I take advantage of indirect cooking.

showcaller

Mixed reviews here. It seems that Napoleon's nitch are the folks who want to and willing to spend more than a few hundred dollars on a gril but can't afford the high end models that begin at around $2,500.00 give or take. To be fair I am not sure how many of the lower priced grills offer Infrared so when you put that into the equation these grills might very well be reasonably priced and given how much Woot has seem to discount them, the ones offered here might be a great bargain.

zonkerrob

"The most significant problem with cheap grills is they often use very thin stainless. These lightweight machines are pretty and shiny on the showroom floor but vulnerable to the demands of grilling. They can quickly develop minute stress fractures that lead to corrosion and reduced performance.

zonkerrob

napoleonkim wrote:[Lids are double lined roll top for oven like heat retention. No worry there for quality.

I'm not sure if "No worry there" is a quantifiable statement.
I would think no matter the thickness the lids would almost have to be double walled or the heat would discolor the single layer on the first grilling, although I am no metallurgist and that is just an opinion. What is not an opinion is a double layer of paper-thin steel will collapse under a resting hand about as easily as a single sheet. I can find no hard info on the thickness, other than in the higher-end Prestige grill from the same company, the actual burners are 16 gauge, implying the body and lid gauge are thinner, which if true would mean the higher-end grills above this model line from this company are on the thinnest end of common use at best.

jklauminzer

I have a Napoleon built in model.
Amazing grill - cooks more evenly than my old Weber Genesis and build quality is much higher as well.

The only nit I have is the casing around the temp meter on the lid must have had a cheap metallic paint, as it flaked off after one winter. It should be a small issue, but I found it extremely annoying for a grill I spent almost $2,000 on had such a low quality feature.

Other than that, I do recommend this line of grills. The infrared is a nice touch, the built in light helps in the fall months when cooking dinner is done at dusk, and the available rotisserie is nice for chicken. Really event heat and solid build.

bigray57

The Napoleon M730RSBIPSS-1 Mirage Propane Gas Grill with Infrared Rear and Side Burner gets great reviews at the mother ship: http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-M730RSBIPSS-1-Mirage-Propane-Infrared/product-reviews/B001OQR5UC/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

squidward

showcaller wrote:Mixed reviews here. It seems that Napoleon's nitch are the folks who want to and willing to spend more than a few hundred dollars on a gril but can't afford the high end models that begin at around $2,500.00 give or take. To be fair I am not sure how many of the lower priced grills offer Infrared so when you put that into the equation these grills might very well be reasonably priced and given how much Woot has seem to discount them, the ones offered here might be a great bargain.

http://bbq.about.com/b/2003/05/27/napoleon-grills.htm

With a few exceptions, the comments at the link are fairly negative..ouch. One commenter asserts there are two levels of Napoleon's in terms of quality: those made in Canada are the good ones, those made in China are the poor ones. Hmmm...

I second cdmtoday's comment: go with a Weber.

I wept (inside) the day my ex- "surprised" me by tossing that "ugly grill" (my worn looking but wonderful Weber) and replaced it with a "pretty" stainless Amana from Target.. what garbage that grill was.

mcclureas

I purchased a propane Napoleon Mirage last Summer and have been thoroughly impressed with it. In doing some research prior to buying it, I believe that it is of better quality/construction than a comparably priced Weber, Ducane, etc. The burner layout provides the most even heat that I found on any grill. The sheetmetal is a thicker gauge than on comparable Webers. I also purchased the rotisserie attachment and find that the grill does an excellent job and can easily fit a 15 lb turkey.

DJG

At these prices the Sabre grills that are now being carried by Ace Hardware stores are a better choice, they include infared and regular grilling, are super heavy and made in USA. Easily equal to Weber. I also highly recommend finding a model with a side burner which is very convenient to have.

woottoady

My advice... buy a cheap grill and expect it to fall apart. My practice though has been to buy a mid to upper-range grill and cringe when it falls apart, fixing it with replacement parts that cost nearly as much as the new grill.

The "fancy" unit I have now has lived its life protected by screened-in porch when it's not grilling. Despite that, it looks like a wreck. So I'm in the market again, but looking this time for a disposable grill, disposably priced.

VelvetHammar

cdmtoday wrote:Be a friend to yourself. Buy a Weber. This thing we be converted into beer cans while the Webers keep chugging along. Part forever. Great build quality. Outstanding customer service. I'm done with no-name grills.

Apparently you don't know anything about grills. Otherwise you'd know that Napoleon is essentially the Weber of Canada. Some may even argue they are far superior to Weber in many ways. So, do yourself a favor and do a bit of research before shilling for a competing brand.

FranklinS

KrmtDfrog wrote:These grills appear to have burner lines that run from the front of the grill vertically to the back, rather than horizontally from side to side. This is a pretty bad design flaw and should be avoided.

Why, you ask? Because it puts the very hot flame close to the plastic knob that controls the temperature. Over time, this will cause some melting of the back of that plastic knob. Plastic activators/controllers that are far away from the heat - as they are on most horizontal ones - are simply better for that sole reason.

bigray57

VelvetHammar wrote:Apparently you don't know anything about grills. Otherwise you'd know that Napoleon is essentially the Weber of Canada. Some may even argue they are far superior to Weber in many ways. So, do yourself a favor and do a bit of research before shilling for a competing brand.

AGREED! I have a 14 year old "Franken-Weber" grill. I have replaced EVERY internal part on it at least 2 times. Still works, but now the ignition isn't working. This would be replacement #3 for the ignition. The only thing that is original is the outside shell. It is the Silver Genesis model (which was pretty top-of-the-line back then) and now it is obsolete. My trigger finger is getting itchy to pull for one of these.

photobobk

Bought a smaller Napoleon grille back in the late 90's. Very expensive at the time, but high-end and a beauty. After five years, the cabinet still looked good, but the cooking grates (porcelain), stainless "flavor bars", and burners needed to be replaced. The parts would have cost me half of what I paid for the entire grille originally. I say "would have cost me" because no one had them in stock. I sadly ended up dragging it to the curb for the scrap jackals...

After that, had a couple of cheap "disposable" grilles that were disappointing. Five years ago, I did my homework and settled on a mid-sized Weber. A big selling point was that the orange box-store had stacks of replacement parts on their shelves, at reasonable prices. Now, after those five years, the Weber still looks and performs beautifully, and the internal parts are holding up quite well.

napoleonkim

I am the rep for Napoleon and I can tell you that Napoleon beats all the other grills out there hands down! You get more for your money. Just do a comparison grill to grill and you will see the features you get.

eajohnst

photobobk wrote:Bought a smaller Napoleon grille back in the late 90's. Very expensive at the time, but high-end and a beauty. After five years, the cabinet still looked good, but the cooking grates (porcelain), stainless "flavor bars", and burners needed to be replaced. The parts would have cost me half of what I paid for the entire grille originally. I say "would have cost me" because no one had them in stock. I sadly ended up dragging it to the curb for the scrap jackals...

After that, had a couple of cheap "disposable" grilles that were disappointing. Five years ago, I did my homework and settled on a mid-sized Weber. A big selling point was that the orange box-store had stacks of replacement parts on their shelves, at reasonable prices. Now, after those five years, the Weber still looks and performs beautifully, and the internal parts are holding up quite well.

Based on my experience with both, the Weber wins, hands down.

This. Weber grills are built well, but the biggest advantage that they have is that you can find replacement parts just about anywhere. That is a HUGE advantage as all grills will eventually wear down.

napoleonkim

For starters the warranty. For replacement parts it is very easy to get. Contact Napoleon and we will send you parts free of charge. More features to the grill. Lift Ease lid which is only by Napoleon makes it easy for everyone to lift, it goes back, not up which also keeps the temperature of the grill warm when you lift the lid to check on your food. Takes up less space on your deck or patio. The wave cooking grids are S shaped so you can cook small pieces of food without losing it between the grills. The sear plates are angled and stacked above the burners to protect the burners from grease sitting on them that cause corrosion. Features like condiment trays that are around the shelves so that you can put your messy sauces there and not on the shelves. Ice buckes beneath the shelves so you can store your food in it instead of running in and out of the house.
These are just a few that make us unique.

Jon651

Even if I were in the market for a new grill, I'm afraid I would have to pass on this offering. For the entry price, a Weber Genesis would be a much better choice, but I have some strong opinions about grills when it comes to spending (that much of) my own money.

Construction - call me old-fashioned, but I much prefer a grill where the fire box is cast instead of made from crimped-together sheet metal - regardless of what type of metal. A cast fire box is much more rigid and will not flex and weaken over time. This is especially critical if you move your grill occasionally; but even if you never move it from it's original spot, just the endless cycles of heating and cooling (expansion and contraction) will cause a grill made from sheet metal pieces to flex and loosen over time.

Cooking surface - my personal preference is to cook on a cast iron grill surface with a wide profile over any surface made from round bars, regardless of material or diameter. Cast iron heats evenly and a wide profile transfers heat much better. A grill made from round bars does not heat as evenly and the round surface does not provide good contact with the food to transfer heat. Yes, a grill surface made from stainless steel is much easier to clean, but once you cook on cast iron you will see the difference when cooking immediately and I've never looked back.

Parts - Despite its price, the one thing you can say about a Weber is that I can go to any local big-box home improvement store and get a replacement part; and if I can't find what I need locally, their customer service is excellent and the online availability is nothing short of "vast". This makes all the difference between repairing your grill and using it for several more years and throwing it out and buying a new one.

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